NAPA, CA – Abarca presented at PerformRx’s annual conference Innovations XIII, at the Meritage Resort and Spa in beautiful Napa, California. This year’s event was especially momentous as PerformRx celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Jason Borschow, Abarca’s CEO, joined Mesfin Tegenu, president of PerformRx, in a conversation on “The Importance of Technology in PBM Services.” The two discussed the current state of PBM technology, the components necessary to create a truly modern platform, and what the future looks like for the healthcare industry at large. Here are five takeaways:
- Compliance is critical, but so is innovation. The consequences of not performing PBM functions seamlessly are significant for members, plan staff, and from a regulatory perspective. In many PBM technology teams, the main focus is on managing risk. The biggest investments are made in compliance, not on innovation. There is an opportunity to create new value without risking non-compliance.
- Take risks. Create a culture that is willing to take risks, willing to fail, and ready to tackle technology in an iterative process. That is really where the game-changing innovation starts.
- User experience is everything. A culture where the user experience is at the center of the conversation leads to high-value outcomes for all stakeholders.
- Maintain competitiveness. You need to stay competitive and modernize technology in order to grow. The cost of maintaining the current state is much higher than anyone imagines. The main driver is to meet the needs of where the market is going. The efficiency gains in automation are significant and modern technology creates major administrative and staffing efficiencies.
- Legacy systems are outdated. Legacy PBM systems were built in the 80s and 90s and were the gold standard up to 10 years ago. These platforms have survived in the space much longer than in other areas, and have not been disrupted in the way other industries have been. In turn, this has caused considerable delays in innovation.
The Innovations XIII Conference is designed around PerformRx’s mission to form collaborative partnerships among clients and allies. During the event, we had the unique opportunity to interact with leaders from across the industry as we broadened our knowledge of issues and changes in the healthcare industry. Participants also had the chance to meet Darwin.
Used by PerformRx, Darwin is the smarter PBM platform that minimizes these drains on the accuracy, productivity, and morale. This industry-leading technology is cloud-based, mobile-friendly, secure, permission-based, and operated on a point-and-click interface that is easy to use.
At Abarca, we are fully in tune with the fact that technology will continue to transform the way we live and work, and the PBM industry is no exception.
To stay relevant in today’s dynamic healthcare marketplace, we know that the status quo is simply not enough, and Darwin proves that. For Abarca, there is no limit to what we as an industry can achieve.